Instrument panel module including power/signal transmission system for vehicle

ABSTRACT

An electrical equipment for a vehicle is separated to an exterior appearance member and an interior control member including a drive circuit for the electrical equipment. The exterior appearance member is provided on a dash panel. The interior control member is provided on a reinforce. The dash panel and the reinforce are then integrated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to an instrument panel module including a power/signal transmission system for a vehicle.

[0002] Electrical equipments, including meters, various switches and sensors, connection boxes, a radio unit and an air conditioner, are mounted on an instrument panel of a vehicle. A wire harness provided with a large number of wires, is connected to these electrical equipments.

[0003] Such a wire harness is wired while being integrally mounted on a reinforce, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-310002A.

[0004] In this example shown in FIG. 6, the wire harness 61 is integrally mounted on the reinforce 60 and extended therealong. Hence, a dash panel 63 and the reinforce 60 can be relatively easily mounted on a vehicle body (not shown).

[0005] Each of various electrical equipments, mounted on the dash panel 63, comprises a structural member in which an interior control section including a drive circuit or the like, and an exterior appearance section including a display or the like are provided in an integrated manner. Therefore, many kinds of electrical equipments must be prepared for the dash panel 63 in accordance with the design variations for the car kind or grade, so that the number of the component parts has increased. Further, the degree of freedom of design of the exterior appearance section is restricted by the integral structure of the interior control section and the exterior appearance section.

[0006] In recent years, the amount of communication of information in a vehicle has been increasing, so that the number of circuits of connection between the wire harness and the electrical equipments has been increasing. Therefore, connectors, connected to the wire harness 61 mounted on the reinforce 60, have a multi-pole design, and a connecting load, required when connecting the connector, has increased, thus inviting a problem that the efficiency of mounting of the reinforce 60 and the dash panel 63 on the vehicle body is lowered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an instrument panel including a power/signal transmission system for a vehicle, in which the standardization of the interior control section of each electric equipment can be achieved, the degree of freedom of the design of the exterior appearance section can be improved, and the efficiency of the operation for mounting the instrument panel to the vehicle body can be improved.

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an instrument panel module for a vehicle, comprising:

[0009] a dash panel, on which an exterior appearance member of an electrical equipment for the vehicle is attached; and

[0010] a reinforce integrated with the dash panel, on which an interior control member of the electrical equipment is provided, the interior control member including a drive circuit for the electrical equipment.

[0011] In the instrument panel module, the interior control member of the electrical equipment is separated from the exterior appearance member thereof and integrated with the reinforce as a sub-module.

[0012] Thus, the interior control member can be easily standardized, thereby enhancing the general-purpose ability, and besides the degree of freedom of design of the exterior appearance member can be improved.

[0013] Preferably, power supply and signal communication between the exterior appearance member and the interior control member are performed in a non-contact connection manner.

[0014] In this configuration, the use of connectors for connection purposes is not necessary, and the working efficiency of mounting of the instrument panel module on the vehicle body can be enhanced, and besides a space-saving design can be achieved since the use of connectors is omitted.

[0015] Here, it is preferable that the signal communication is performed by at least one of infrared communication and optical communication.

[0016] Further, it is preferable that the power supply is performed by power transmission using electromagnetic induction.

[0017] In the above configurations, the power/signal transmission can be effected with the simple construction having the relatively-inexpensive component parts.

[0018] According to the present invention, there is also provided a method of assembling an instrument panel module for a vehicle, comprising the steps of:

[0019] separating an electrical equipment for the vehicle to an exterior appearance member and an interior control member including a drive circuit for the electrical equipment;

[0020] providing the exterior appearance member on a dash panel;

[0021] providing the interior control member on a reinforce; and

[0022] integrating the dash panel and the reinforce.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0024]FIG. 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a reinforce used in an instrument panel module according to one embodiment of the invention;

[0025]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a power/signal transmission system incorporated in the instrument panel module;

[0026]FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an essential portion of the transmission system of FIG. 2;

[0027]FIG. 4A is a view explanatory of a change of branch connection positions of a wire harness in accordance with the design variations of vehicles;

[0028]FIG. 4B is a view explanatory of the mounting of the wire harness on a reinforce;

[0029]FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view explanatory of the manner of mounting the reinforce on a vehicle body; and

[0030]FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the construction of a related-art instrument panel module.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0031] A preferred embodiment of an instrument panel module including a power/signal transmission system of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032] An instrument panel module 10 comprises a dash panel 25 (not explicitly shown but similar to the dash panel 63 in FIG. 6) and a reinforce 12 (shown in FIG. 1) which are united together.

[0033] A wire harness 14 is integrally mounted on the reinforce 12 and extended therealong. A standard ECU (Electric Control Unit) 16 in which a body ECU, meter drive circuits and others are integrated, or a control ECU 18 for various electric equipments, such as an audio system, a clock and an air conditioner, is integrally incorporated in the wire harness 14.

[0034] The instrument panel module in this embodiment includes a center console.

[0035] A flat cable is used as the wire harness 14, and sub-wire harnesses 15 a and 15 b (serving as branch wires), provided respectively with connectors 14 a and 14 b, are connected to the wire harness 14 in a branch-connected manner.

[0036] In this embodiment, the reinforce 12 is a steel member having an H-shaped cross-section, so that the wire harness 14 is installed along a base bottom portion 12 a. Connectors 20 and 22 for connecting the wire harness 14 to a vehicle body are connected respectively to both longitudinal ends of the wire harness 14.

[0037] A multi-media electrical equipment 24 is mounted on a roughly central portion of the reinforce 12 via a center brace 23 fixedly mounted on the reinforce 12. The standard ECU 16 is mounted on the reinforce 12, and is disposed near to the multi-media electrical equipment 24. The control ECU 18 for effecting the drive control, for example, of the audio system, the clock, the air-conditioner and others, is incorporated in the multi-media electrical equipment 24.

[0038] The standard ECU 16 and the control ECU 18 serve as interior control sections including drive control circuits of the electrical equipments.

[0039] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, exterior appearance sections (i.e., a display section or a switch operation section for switches and meters) 26 and 28 of the various electrical equipments (such for example as the audio system, the clock and the air-conditioner) are incorporated in the dash panel 25 in such a manner that these exterior appearance sections 26 and 28 are separated from the interior control sections (16 and 18) integrated with the reinforce 12.

[0040] The standard ECU 16 is incorporated in the wire harness 14 to obtain operating information of an engine and others, and sends this information to the exterior appearance section 28 of the electrical equipments on the dash panel 25 so that this information is, for example, indicated in the meter.

[0041] The power/signal transmission system 40 of this embodiment is provided between the reinforce 12 and the dash panel 25. More specifically, a power transmission unit 42 and a signal transmission unit 43 are provided between the standard ECU 16 and each exterior appearance section 28, as shown in FIG. 3. The transmission of electric power is performed by an electromagnetic induction system, and the transmission of signals is performed by an information interface, depending on infrared communication or optical communication. Namely, the power/signal transmission is carried out by non-contact connection. By adopting the non-contact connection, the difficulty, encountered in connecting multi-pole connectors, can be eliminated so that the efficiency of the assembling work can be enhanced. Further, since the provision of spaces for connectors is omitted, a space-saving design can be achieved.

[0042] As shown in FIG. 2, a steering module 29 is also connected to the standard ECU 16. The above power/signal transmission in a non-contact connection manner is applied also between an exterior appearance section 29 a of the steering module 29 and the standard ECU 16.

[0043] Further, the above power/signal transmission in a non-contact connection manner is applied also between an exterior appearance section 26 of each multi-media electrical equipment 24 on the dash panel 25 and the control ECU 18.

[0044] Although the detail will not be explained here, such a power/signal communication is performed among the audio system, the clock, the air conditioner and others on the dash panel 25, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0045] In the instrument panel module 10 of this embodiment, the interior control sections (the standard ECU 16 and the control ECU 18) of the electrical equipments (the audio system, the clock, the air conditioner and others), are separated form the exterior appearance sections (the display section, the switches and others) to be mounted on the dash panel 25 and the center console. The interior control sections are integrated with the wire harness 14 on the reinforce 12 to form a sub-module.

[0046] Thus, the standardization of the interior control sections including the reinforce 12 can be easily achieved. Further, the degree of freedom of design of the exterior appearance sections including the dash panel 25 can be enhanced. Therefore, a design change according to the car kind can be attained merely by changing the dash panel 25.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 4A, the interior control section can meet a change of the car kind by changing the branch-connection portions of the sub-wire harnesses 15 a and 15 b, connected respectively to the connectors 14 a and 14 b, and a change of the circuit. The wire harness 14, in which the branching positions of the sub-wire harnesses 15 a and 15 b and the mounting position of the standard ECU 16 are changed in accordance with a change of the car kind, is mounted integrally on the reinforce 12. However, the physical construction of the interior control section is not essentially changed, and therefore the interior control section can meet different kinds of cars.

[0048] Next, the procedure of mounting the sub-modularized reinforce 12 on the vehicle body 30, 32 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5.

[0049] First, the center brace 23 and the multi-media electrical equipment 24 are mounted on the reinforce 12. In this condition, the dash panel 25 having the meter display section and the switches mounted thereon, is integrally mounted on the reinforce 12 to form the instrument panel module. Then, the reinforce 12 is attached to brackets 34 and 36 which are fixedly secured respectively to right and left mounting portions of the vehicle body 30, 32 by welding or screw-fastening, thus mounting the instrument panel module.

[0050] More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, left ends of horizontal walls 12 b and 12 b of the reinforce 12 are fitted respectively into fitting grooves 34 a formed in the bracket 34, while right ends of the horizontal walls 12 b are fitted respectively into fitting grooves 36 a formed in the bracket 36, as indicated by arrows.

[0051] When the horizontal walls 12 b of the reinforce 12 are fitted into the fitting grooves 34 a and 36 a, panel-side connectors 20 and 22 mounted on the reinforce 12 are automatically connected respectively to body-side connectors 35 and 37 fixedly mounted respectively on the brackets 34 and 36.

[0052] More specifically, each of the body-side connectors 35 and 37 comprises a self-aligning connector so that when it is out of alignment with the instrument panel connector 20, 22, it can move to absorb this misalignment. Thus, each body connector 35, 37 is brought into alignment with the instrument panel connector 20, 22 during the mounting of the reinforce 12.

[0053] A small-size junction box (not shown) is formed integrally with each of the brackets 34 and 36 so that the connection to the wire harness 14, mounted integrally on the reinforce 12, can be effected collectively. A small-size power module (not shown) can be inserted into the junction box, to supply a predetermined power depending on the specification of a vehicle.

[0054] Thus, merely by mounting the reinforce 12 on the brackets 34 and 36 on the vehicle body 30, 32, the installation of the instrument panel module 10 can be completed, with the panel-side connectors 20 and 22 connected respectively to the body-side connectors 35 and 37.

[0055] Therefore, the time and labor, required for connecting the panel-side connectors 20 and 22 respectively to the body-side connectors 35 and 37, are saved, and the instrument panel module-mounting operation can be simplified.

[0056] Although the present invention has been shown and described with reference to specific preferred embodiments, various changes and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein. Such changes and modifications as are obvious are deemed to come within the spirit, scope and contemplation of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An instrument panel module for a vehicle, comprising: a dash panel, on which an exterior appearance member of an electrical equipment for the vehicle is attached; and a reinforce integrated with the dash panel, on which an interior control member of the electrical equipment is provided, the interior control member including a drive circuit for the electrical equipment.
 2. The instrument panel module as set forth in claim 1, wherein power supply and signal communication between the exterior appearance member and the interior control member are performed in a non-contact connection manner.
 3. The instrument panel module as set forth in claim 2, wherein the signal communication is performed by at least one of infrared communication and optical communication.
 4. The instrument panel module as set forth in claim 2, wherein the power supply is performed by power transmission using electromagnetic induction.
 5. A method of assembling an instrument panel module for a vehicle, comprising the steps of: separating an electrical equipment for the vehicle to an exterior appearance member and an interior control member including a drive circuit for the electrical equipment; providing the exterior appearance member on a dash panel; providing the interior control member on a reinforce; and integrating the dash panel and the reinforce. 